Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) Shares Up 1.5% – What’s Next?

Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) rose 1.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $163.08 and last traded at $162.77. 2,853,024 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 3,274,474 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.36.

Trending Headlines about Roku

Here are the key news stories impacting Roku this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fox completed its reported $22 billion acquisition of Roku, combining Roku’s streaming platform with Fox’s media and advertising business. Fox expects the transaction to create more opportunities to reach audiences and serve advertising partners, while also expanding the reach of its sports and news programming. Fox completes its $22B acquisition of Roku
• Neutral Sentiment: The acquisition’s completion means Roku will no longer trade on Nasdaq as of Friday. Investors should view ROKU’s immediate trading implications in light of the completed transaction, rather than solely as a bet on Roku’s future as an independent company. Fox Corp. Closes $22B Acquisition Of Roku
• Neutral Sentiment: Roku head Charlie Collier and Tubi CEO Anjali Sud are departing, with Paul Cheesbrough named CEO of Fox Digital Platforms. The leadership changes signal a reshaping of Fox’s combined digital operation, though the reports provide no details on the expected financial impact. Fox Digital Platforms leadership changes

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Roku from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Roku in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Roku in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price target on Roku from $120.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Roku from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eighteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.17.

Roku Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $155.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.92. The stock has a market cap of $23.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.34 and a beta of 2.12.

Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Roku had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 19.19%. Roku’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Roku, Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Roku

In other news, SVP Christopher Handman sold 2,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total transaction of $466,764.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,400,293.08. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Gilbert Fuchsberg sold 4,824 shares of Roku stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.64, for a total value of $750,807.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 40,168 shares in the company, valued at $6,251,747.52. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 88,028 shares of company stock worth $13,645,922. Insiders own 13.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Roku

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ROKU. 55 North Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Roku by 4.8% in the third quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its stake in Roku by 44.1% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 281 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC increased its stake in Roku by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC lifted its holdings in Roku by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Roku by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.30% of the company’s stock.

About Roku

Roku, Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU) operates a television streaming platform that connects consumers with digital entertainment. The company develops and licenses Roku OS, an operating system for smart televisions and streaming devices, and offers Roku-branded streaming players, Roku TVs, audio products and related accessories.

Roku also operates a platform business that distributes streaming content through its interface and supports content discovery, subscriptions and digital advertising. Its services include The Roku Channel, which provides a selection of ad-supported and premium entertainment, as well as tools that enable content providers and advertisers to reach streaming audiences.

Founded in 2002 by Anthony Wood, Roku initially became known for its streaming players and later expanded through partnerships with television manufacturers.